


the cabin in the woods

by kleine_waldfee



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: (admittedly bad) horror, Alcohol, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempt at Humor, Fluff and Angst, Hybrids, Kidnapping, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Secrets, Weed, cabin in the woods
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-12 08:50:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19943440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kleine_waldfee/pseuds/kleine_waldfee
Summary: A cabin in the woods is perfect for a fun weekend getaway, right?





	the cabin in the woods

**Author's Note:**

> special thanks to A for enabling this mess

I

"Jongho, remember the trip we're going on?" Yunho asked, voice dripping with the disgusting sweetness of molten sugar. He had just thrown himself on Jongho's bed, making a not so elegant landing on the mattress, bouncing up and down, shirt hiking up and exposing his entire back. Whatever, it's not like he cared, Jongho and him had been best friends for years and they were among themselves. Life wasn't that serious, he thought. 

Jongho sighed and put his pink gel pen - his guilty pleasure - down. "How could I forget? We're literally going tomorrow, plus, it's my uncle's cabin." Unsatisfied, he took a look at his homework. The sheet was a complete mess. He should probably start over. No, he should finish it and then carefully copy his calculations onto a new sheet. Yes, that's what he was going to do. His homework would not only _be_ impeccable, it would also look the part.

"And you remember my buddy Mingi who's coming with us, right?" He looked at Jongho expectantly, even though the other boy was paying zero attention to him. How anyone could be that invested in their statistics homework was beyond Yunho. 

"Yeah, of course I remember. Do you think I have the brain of a goldfish?" Why was this god damn problem so hard? Was it even allowed to be that hard? Why did he have to take statistics? He was a psychology student. Would he ever need this after graduating? Sighing, he guessed he'd just have to persevere in order to get it over and done with.

Yunho rolled onto his back when his position got uncomfortable. He continued speaking, "Well, he has this friend called Hongjoong. I think you know him. He should come with us, it would be fun." 

Now Jongho finally looked up from his homework and stared at his friend with an incredulous facial expression, which was distorting his otherwise beautiful features. "Hongjoong? Isn't he that ass who spilled his coffee on me and never apologized?"

It had been a horrible incident, really. Absolutely tragic. On the first day of the semester, he had obviously tried to look good. Everybody tried to look presentable on the first day of the semester, right? People usually try to make it seem like they have their shit together for about a week and then they just end up dropping the act and go to their classes with sweatpants and greasy hair. Either way, Hongjoong had totally ruined his perfect first day, his expensive, stylish white slacks, and he'd had the nerve to just run away without apologizing after gesturing around uselessly like the absolute moron he was in Jongho's opinion. 

"Listen," Yunho exclaimed and threw his hands in the air exasperatedly, "He's not an ass. He's just shy, you know? Honestly, he's as much of a nerd as you, so you two would probably actually get along well if you tried to get to know him."

"Nerd?! You come into my room and call me _nerd_?" Jongho jumped up and sprinted to his bed, throwing himself on top of his friend in an attempt to knock the breath out of him and then strangle him. 

Yunho shrieked like he had just been confronted with something grisly like a centipede. Well, a furious Jongho was probably almost as fear-evoking as a centipede, to be completely honest. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it in a bad way, you're so smart and hard-working, I can only wish to be like you one day, please don't kill me, I'm too young to die!"

Laughing, Jongho plopped down next to Yunho. "You know that I don't really see that as an insult, right?"

Yunho pressed his hands to his chest in a fruitless attempt to calm himself down and breathlessly replied, "God, you can't even imagine how scary you look when you attack. You turned into a feral beast right before my very own eyes! I was convinced you'd rip my head off."

The only reaction Yunho got from Jongho was an incredulous snort. For a few moments, they lay there in silence before Yunho spoke up again. "So, what do you say about Hongjoong coming with us?"

Jongho released a noise that sounded like _ugh_ and considered it. After a while he answered, "Fine, whatever. But only because I know that he's a loser who doesn't have friends other than you and Mingi."

Rolling his eyes, Yunho quipped, "Wow, you're the personification of empathy and benevolence."

Jongho gave his friend a sardonic look and clasped Yunho's neck to go back to choking him. 

II

"You did what?!" Hongjoong yelled, both horror and shock written all over his face. He felt like he hadn't heard right, like his best friend had just picked him up and thrown him into a cold swimming pool. His head was beneath the surface and he screamed as the icy water pricked his skin like a thousand needles.

Mingi's voice pulled him out of his mental breakdown. "I asked Yunho to convince Jongho to let you come with us because-" 

Hongjoong interrupted him bluntly. "Mingi, that was no request to repeat yourself, my ears work just fine. What I want to know is why you're doing this to me! I thought you were my friend." Hongjoong felt betrayed. He'd have to look for a new best friend. Wait. He bit his lip. If he stopped talking to Mingi he'd have to make an effort and get in contact with other people, new people, which wouldn't be that bad if that didn't also mean he'd have to get close to them. He begrudgingly decided he could handle some backstabbing from his best friend. 

Sighing, Mingi responded, "I did this because I'm your friend. You study too much and you never go out! I don't want you to desocialise." 

Gesticulating wildly, Hongjoong exclaimed, "I'm not desocialising! I do talk to people! I talk to you and Yunho, I also talk to other people in my classes." How could Mingi accuse him of something that ridiculous? He managed to keep two friendships and several acquaintanceships alive on top of all the studying he had to do. That was pretty fucking good, if you asked him.

"But you're only friends with Yunho because I introduced you to him! You'd never have talked to him without me. So now I'm asking you to come with us on the weekend. It will be fun, you'll get to know Yunho's other friends and you already kinda know Seonghwa and Yeosang, right? They're also coming with us, so you don't have to talk to the other guys if you're too shy. I guess they'll be caught up in their own little bubble of romance, anyway, 'cause Wooyoung and San got together recently."

Hongjoong just groaned in frustration. What the hell. He was in fact acquainted with the boys Mingi had mentioned, but he didn't know them all that well. He thought they were okay, though. If he was honest, he'd never heard of San or Wooyoung. However, since they - according to Mingi - were in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, he wouldn't have to try to make friends with them. That led him to one last problem...

"What about Jongho?" he asked reluctantly.

Shrugging, Mingi replied, "I think he's single."

Hongjoong spluttered, "That... That is absolutely not what I meant. At this point it's like you get the meaning of what I say wrong on purpose."

Mingi just blinked at him innocently, which kind of made him look like an overgrown puppy and Hongjoong sighed. "What I meant is that he hates my guts because of the coffee accident. He's been giving me dirty looks ever since. What if he tries to kill me in my sleep? I totally think he'd be capable of doing that." Just the memory of all the furious looks Jongho had shot his way made him shiver in fear.

For a long moment, neither of them said anything. Mingi weighed his words before he spoke. "I think you two just had a bad start. He's as much of a nerd as you, you'll probably like him once you get over that dumb incident."

Yeah, Hongjoong definitely had his doubts, but on the other hand he was no fool. He was well aware that Mingi wouldn't stop trying to coerce him into agreeing to coming with them. Hongjoong would give in sooner or later, even if it was only to make his friend stop annoying him. Maybe Mingi did have a point about him not meeting enough people. He'd survive a weekend in the company of some people he didn't usually talk to. It's not like that would kill him, right? 

So he gave up spilling excuses and - with the voice of a broken man - mumbled, "Whatever, but don't expect too much. You know I prefer being alone."

Mingi gave him a radiant smile in response. "Trust me, you won't regret it! It's going to be so much fun!"

III

"Wake up!" San yelled at Wooyoung for the seventh time that morning. He attempted to give his order more weight by throwing a pair of boxershorts at his boyfriend's relaxed and unbothered face. Wooyoung merely released a grunt and contined sleeping as if nothing had happened. San sighed and retrieved the piece of underwear in order to stuff it back into his travel bag before he zipped it up. 

Nobody ever took his authority seriously. He was going to be a teacher soon and he was scared that if he couldn't even convince his boyfriend to get up, no kid would ever listen to him.

Obviously it wasn't that deep. He scolded himself mentally as he scratched his head, thinking up new methods to wake the sleeping beauty up. After a moment of consideration he came to the conclusion that controlling a bunch of children would be way easier than waking Wooyoung up. At this point San was convinced that someone could fire a gun next to his boyfriend's ear and he would just turn around to continue sleeping without a single care in the world. Honestly, sometimes he was jealous of Wooyoung's ability to basically be dead to the world whenever he slept.

After coming up with a new idea, he stomped over to the bed and sat down next to Wooyoung. He looked like an angel with his round cheeks and the little pout on his lips. San sighed and kissed his boyfriend's cheek softly. It was just too tempting. Or maybe he was just a little bit too weak for his boyfriend. Surprisingly, Wooyoung's eyes fluttered open, slow and heavy. The sunlight felt uncomfortable in his tired eyes and he blinked at his boyfriend wordlessly.

San smiled. "That's what it takes to get you to wake up?" 

Drunk on sleep, Wooyoung stretched out his arms and made grabby hands at San. "I'm still tired. More kisses please?"

"Of course, baby," San cooed at his boyfriend's kind of childish yet absolutely adorable behaviour and leaned in to kiss him on the mouth. Smiling into the kiss, Wooyoung wrapped his arms around San's neck and pulled him on top of himself. He didn't ever want to let him go. Not just physically, also emotionally. He didn't want to let go of him, ever. They had been pining for one another for literal years and now that they were finally together, it was as if they had found their own little paradise beneath the endless blue sky.

Wooyoung attempted to deepen their kiss, seemingly more awake now and San let him, ignoring the morning breath mingling with the taste of his freshly brushed teeth. Sometimes, when you loved someone, you had to make sacrifices, and sometimes that included doing gross things. San couldn't find it in him to mind, though. It was Wooyoung, after all. His Wooyoung. He giggled at the thought, involuntarily breaking the kiss, before Wooyoung smiled up at him, beaming like the first rays of sunshine bursting through the window, soft and warm, nothing short of perfect. 

"Why are you laughing?" Wooyoung asked curiously. There was a mischievous spark in his eyes and San thought that he was so lucky to call this man his.

San cupped Wooyoung's cheeks and leaned in until the tips of their noses brushed. "I'm just so happy to be with you," He admitted with his eyes half-closed. Wooyoung released a shaky breath, almost as if he had been holding it, and tilted his chin up in order to seal his lips with San's again. 

The men kept kissing like that, entirely ignoring everything and everyone outside of their little bubble of love, including the time - until the bell of their apartment rang, acting as a ruthless needle in this scenario, bursting the tender bubble they had surrounded themselves with. Pouting, San pulled away and looked at the stress in Wooyoung's eyes as the realization hit him. 

"That's Yeosang and Seonghwa." He sat up too quickly and almost headbutted San, whose reflexes fortunately kicked in fast enough to protect himself. In complete horror, Wooyoung exclaimed, "I haven't even packed anything yet! Oh my God, San, what should I do? Do you think they'll be mad if we make them wait? Then everyone else will have to wait, too, right? We're the first ones they're picking up-"

San interrupted his boyfriend's furious rambling and calmly said, "Wooyoung, take a deep breath. I packed all your things since you wouldn't wake up and I didn't have anything better to do. The only thing I haven't put in your bag yet is your toothbrush, so you just go brush your teeth and then we're ready to go, okay? I'll greet the boys." 

The shock disappeared from Wooyoung's gaze and was replaced with something else, something gentler. "Thank you," he breathed and scrambled to unwrap himself from the blanket. Meanwhile, San sauntered to the front door of the apartment and opened it without checking the spyhole. He liked living on the edge.

Yeosang stood there by himself. "Hey," San simply greeted him and gestured for him to come in. 

"Hey," He said back and stepped inside. He didn't move to take off his shoes or his jacket. It would be unnecessary considering that they'd leave in a couple of minutes and they were just standing around in the anteroom anyway. San knew for a fact that Wooyoung would probably first kill Yeosang and then him if he allowed him to enter any other room with his shoes on. "Honestly, you two let me wait so long, I thought you were maybe still asleep or," he gestured around helplessly before finishing his sentence with a vague, "something like that." 

Rolling his eyes at the implication, San swatted his friend's arm and joked, "Funny, but now you're just projecting your and Seonghwa's dynamic onto us. By the way, where is he? Couldn't he manage to move his old, fragile body up the stairs?"

The corners of Yeosang's lips turned upwards, but the rest of his mouth stayed straight, resulting in a weird sort of smile. "I'm telling him that, just so you know. I hope you enjoy walking to the cabin." Then, his expression turned more serious again as he continued speaking, "He's in the van 'cause he didn't want to come upstairs." Even though he didn't say it, he sounded bitter enough for San to practically hear the 'with me' missing at the end of his sentence. 

"Oh no, are you two fighting?" San gave Yeosang a worried once-over. He should have noticed something was wrong by his change in posture. His shoulders were a little bit hunched and the lines of his boyish face seemed harder than normally. Now the odd, artificial smile from before also made sense. That's usually how you smile at random strangers in the street or at people you don't like - it wasn't the type of smile you'd give a friend, at least not if everything was okay.

Yeosang released a bleak snort and sighed, "Fighting? I wish. We're barely talking and that's honestly worse. I wish he'd just tell me what's wrong or what's been on his mind lately. But he doesn't, he doesn't talk about shit and it's driving me crazy. I don't even know whether he has a problem with me or whether it's a personal issue. He's just... Withdrawn and detached, I guess." He ended his little speech with a helpless shrug and the look of a kicked puppy.

San eyed him empathetically. He didn't like seeing his friend like that. Seonghwa and Yeosang had always worked together so well, everyone in their little friend group used to joke and say that God literally made the two for each other, that they were a match made in heaven. People were usually jealous of the couple.

"Listen, your relationship has always been so good. It's normal for couples to have some issues from time to time. Don't worry, Yeosang, I'm sure it's just a phase and that you can work it out. Give Seonghwa some time, I'm sure he'll tell you what's going on when he's ready to open up." 

Yeosang's lips curled into a pout as he considered his words. "You're right, about everything. Theoretically I know all this, but it's good to hear someone else say it out loud. It's just hard, you know? We usually tell each other everything, and if he's pondering something so bad that he can't even tell me I can't even begin to imagine what he must be going through. It's difficult to sit by and watch as he obviously struggles with something."

San was about to reply to Yeosang when Wooyoung finally stumbled into the room. He had changed into casual clothes and was now carrying the bag San had prepared for him. Out of breath, he gasped, "Sorry it took me so long. I only woke up shortly before you arrived and had to get ready." He then proceeded to slip into his shoes and throw on a light jacket.

Waving his apology off, Yeosang answered, "Don't worry about it, I was having a nice little chat with San."

Wooyoung smiled at them both, before he seemed to notice something. "Is Seonghwa not here?" He asked, obviously confused. Yeosang seemed to stiffen at his words, looking more reserved than usually. Apparently he had just put his foot in his mouth. Way to go, Wooyoung, he thought to himself sarcastically. He made a mental note to ask San to fill him in about that later.

Sighing, Yeosang brushed a hand through his bangs before he promptly changed the topic by simply stating, "I'll take your bags downstairs." His words were immediately followed by actions and he picked up the rather small bags. Honestly, he was glad they hadn't packed more. He totally was not in the mood to be confronted with heavy luggage.

"Oh, look at that! My childhood friend became a true gentleman!" San chirped with faux admiration. He was obviously trying to lighten the mood, which Wooyoung was very grateful for. He just couldn't deal with the emotional baggage of people he barely knew. It had only been recently that he had met Yeosang for the first time, so he didn't want to intrude on any of his personal issues. On top of that, he had only been introduced to his boyfriend briefly, so he really didn't want to get into their private business. They were basically strangers to him.

Yeosang simply rolled his eyes and retaliated, "Wow, you're too kind, Yeosang, thank you for carrying our bags, you totally didn't have to!" His voice was about an octave higher than normally and the boys just couldn't help but laugh at his silly behaviour. Well, at least acting childish was better than feeling sad, even if this sort of coping mechanism just led to a temporary relief. 

Wooyoung locked the door and skipped down the stairs behind the two. This weekend was certainly going to be interesting. 

IV

Once everybody had been picked up and squeezed into the Mercedes Vito 2011 Seonghwa had borrowed from his father, they were finally able to start the five hour drive to the cabin in the woods. The place was rather secluded, so once they had to leave the bigger roads they wouldn't be able to rely on the vehicle's navigation system anymore. Jongho had claimed to know the exact route to the destination by heart considering that he went there every summer, but Seonghwa had still brought some maps just to be safe.

"Can Seonghwa even read those?" Mingi asked, voice loud and unbothered as he spoke about the other man as if he wasn't in the same van. "Can _anyone_ in here read maps?"

In the front, next to Seonghwa, sat Jongho, who could just roll his eyes at his friend's questions. "Mingi, I've been going to that cabin regularly, ever since I've been a little kid, I don't even know why Seonghwa thought it was necessary to bring those old things." He glanced at him, but Seonghwa's expression was bored, almost stoic, as he focussed on the road.

Yunho, who was seated to Mingi's left side, now asked, "Guys, let's be realistic." Thank God, Jongho thought. The voice of reason. Tone even and serious, Yunho continued, "What if Jongho gets eaten by a wolf? We'd never find our way back ever again!" Jongho was ready to slam his face into the dashboard and they'd only been on the road for about an hour. 

"Why would Jongho get eaten by a wolf?" Wooyoung asked in the back. He was obviously weirded out by the thought, even though Jongho couldn't see him. 

With a voice that clearly said 'no more ridiculous questions', Jongho explained, "There are no wolves in that area."

Yunho either didn't notice the strict edge in Jongho's voice or simply chose to ignore it in favour of asking, "How can you be so sure? Have you checked?"

Half turning around to give his friend a deadpan stare, Jongho replied, "Trust me, I've never seen one and nobody in my family has ever mentioned the possibility of there being a damn wolf in the forest surrounding the hut."

Now Hongjoong spoke up. "But technically it's possible, right?" He was seated on Mingi's other side and had just been an uninvolved listener of the admittedly useless conversation until then, but if there really were wolves or any other scary animals he thought he had a right to know. 

Jongho whipped his head around in the other direction so fast that everybody who saw wondered how he didn't get whiplash from the sudden movement. He hissed, " _Technically_ , I could also let you sleep outside. Then you'd have the opportunity to find out first-hand."

Offended, Hongjoong was ready to protest, but Mingi put a hand on his arm, which basically had the same effect as putting it over his mouth. "Let's stay civil, alright? We're going on this trip to have a good time, so please put your feud aside for this weekend."

Maybe Yunho's braincells had been transmitted to Mingi's brain because all of a sudden it seemed as if he was the actual voice of reason among their little group. "You're right," Jongho muttered. It would be useless to start a fight with Hongjoong in such a small space. It would just get on everyone's nerves and for the sake of his and his friends' sanity he didn't want to risk that. Mingi was right, they were trying to have a good time. Why ruin that for entirely selfish reaons? 

A little 'sorry' burned hot on the tip of his tongue, but he clenched his teeth until the fire went out. He would not apologize to Hongjoong. After all that guy hadn't bothered apologizing to him either. Nostalgically, he remembered his nice white slacks which the other had ruined oh so shamelessly.

Sighing, Jongho settled for watching the cars that passed them by, the blurry landscape and the change in brightness as the sun kept rising. He tried to disregard the lively conversations of his friends in favour of trying to get some more sleep. He wasn't used to getting up that early on the weekend. That was his best guess as to why his mood was so sour. 

Jongho was one to work hard during the week, but he loved going out and letting loose as much as possible when he didn't have any classes. It's what he deserved and also what he needed in order to stay sane. It's not like his grades would suffer, he was an excellent student who worked hard in order to be successful and reach his goals. 

Today was Saturday, but Monday was a national holiday, which meant they could spend two nights at his uncle's cabin. He had thought it would be nice to spice up the weekend for himself and his friends, that's why he had organized this little getaway. 

Soon, his eyes grew heavy and he fell asleep as his friends continued bickering, but that was just white noise to him as his head hit the window.

V

"Hey, guys, this is the diner!" Yeosang exclaimed excitedly as his gaze fell upon the building that was basically in the middle of nowhere. Well, it was a roadhouse next to a freeway, which is why there were quite a few cars parked in front of it. Yeosang imagined they'd make good money off of hungry, exhausted travellers. Right next to it there was a gas station where they'd go to tank up the van.

Yeosang was the last one to get out of the vehice. He had been sitting in the furthest corner and had had to wait for everyone else to get out first. When he jumped out he stumbled out of surprise as he saw Seonghwa standing there, waiting for him, while the others were already walking towards the building.

Observing Yeosang's predicament, Seonghwa immediately reached out to steady his boyfriend, and worriedly asked, "You okay?"

Offhandedly, Yeosang replied, "Splendid. Let's go."

Yeosang still felt frustrated. Obviously, he understood that Seonghwa needed privacy and had every right in the world to work out his problems on his own, but Yeosang couldn't help but feel like maybe he was lacking. Could Seonghwa not trust him anymore? Is that why he refused to confide in him? Well, he couldn't really say Seonghwa refused considering that Yeosang had never even asked him what was on his mind to begin with. 

Had he maybe accidentally said or done anything that had hurt Seonghwa? Was that why he had been so taciturn? Or did he simply not want Yeosang anymore? There were way too many options, way too many possible answers to a single question. _What's on your mind?_

He was waiting for Seonghwa to come to him with whatever problem he was dealing with whenever he felt was the right moment. Perhaps Seonghwa was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed Yeosang's worried glances. He'd understand that, really. Being so emotionally taxed that it rendered you speechless, petrified... Yeosang was no stranger to those feelings - he guessed nobody was. Anyway, Yeosang decided he would simply try his best to ignore the problem for the time being. Emotions were exhausting and this was supposed to be a fun trip, so he'd have to compartmentalize.

Sometimes he felt like climbing a mountain, standing on the summit, all sweaty and exhausted due to the physical exertion, and screaming at the top of his lungs. He was sure it would be great. But for now he'd have to deal with it in the good old _ignorance is bliss_ type of way. Behind him, he could hear Seonghwa's tired sigh before he too followed his friends.

The inside of the diner was run-down and simple. It probably needed a renovation, but at the same time its condition made you feel at home, completely unlike the feeling you got upon entering a luxurious restaurant where you'd probably even feel out of place if you wore your most exquisite clothes - this comparison probably won't work for the burgeoisie, but whatever. 

"Hey, could we push those tables together?" Jongho wanted to know immediately upon entering, the incarnation of self-confidence. He gestured towards the general direction of a couple free tables. Hongjoong, who was sort of hiding behind Mingi - if anybody asked, he wasn't hiding, he was just short - admired his tone. He would never be capable of mustering that sort of self-confidence, especially right after waking up from a nap.

Immediately, a waitress came towards them and said, "Of course, here, I'll help you!"

Once they had created a makeshift table spacious enough for eight people, they ordered a ridiculous amount of food. There was something about being on the road that just made everyone's appetites rise to a whole new level. 

While they were busy eating their fast food - burgers and fries, mostly, and some salad to pretend that they were living somewhat healthy lives - Wooyoung decided to point out, "Yeosang, the way you eat reminds me of that one girl in Blue Is The Warmest Colour."

Yeosang looked up at him, focus leaving his precious food. There was some mayonnaise on the corners of his mouth and his cheeks bulged from the amount of food he was munching on. Unfortunately, the others also looked up at that statement to check whether Wooyoung had been right.

San's eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "Oh my God! Adèle, right?"

What the fuck, Yeosang thought. Now he couldn't even eat in peace? What sort of conspiracy was this? He sped up his chewing so that he could at least defend himself, because even he was aware that speaking with one's mouth full of food was gross. Right then a fat drop of some salmon coloured burger sauce decided to drip onto his fingers. Well, maybe he was a little bit of a messy eater. Nobody's perfect, right?

Now Mingi piped up, "Guys, if you think Yeosang eats like that girl you've clearly never watched the movie. She was on a whole new level of gross. Sorry, Sang, but you don't compare to her in the slightest."

Having chewed the food enough for it to finally be swallowed, Yeosang joked, "Wow, guess I'll have to step up my game." 

There were some chuckles, but Wooyoung quietly murmured, "Please don't, I'm sitting across from him. Y'all don't have to watch him."

"What are you looking at me for? Focus on your food. Or San." Yeosang said, sounding more sniffy than he wanted to. His nose was scrunched up, making him look like the uppity suburban housewive he had unfortunately sounded like in that moment. Next to him, Seonghwa bit back a grin.

"But San is next to me. And you're right across from me! How should I focus on him?" Wooyoung sighed, dramatically burying his face in his hands. 

Shrugging, Yeosang replied, "Well, there's still the option to focus on your own plate and mind your own business. Nobody's forcing you to watch me eat."

Begrudgingly, Wooyoung groaned, "Do you know the feeling when you see something horrible and you want to look away, but you just can't, no matter how hard you try? It just draws you in, and it's terrible, shocking even, but you can't get a grip on yourself and tear your gaze away." He popped a handful of fries into his mouth with an exasperated gesture, chewing furiously.

"Sounds like a personal problem. What should I do, anyway? Ask the waitress for a knife and a fork?!" Yeosang raised a thin eyebrow to further point out the ridiculousness of the notion.

All of a sudden Wooyoung looked elated. "You'd really do that?"

Yeosang simply rolled his eyes and watched Wooyoung's smile fall when Seonghwa suddenly decided to stick up for his boyfriend. "Quit bothering him, he looks so cute when he eats."

What. Where had that come from? Yeosang was confused. When Seonghwa wiped Yeosang's mouth with a napkin all he could do was sit there, frozen in surprise. They had barely spoken a word today, let alone the past couple days or even weeks and now Seonghwa was babying him? How odd.

"Thanks," he murmured, going back to stuffing his face in an attempt to try to ignore his friends and their antics.

"Guys, I don't even understand why we're discussing Yeosang's eating habits when Hongjoong is doing... Whatever it is that he's doing right now." Mingi interjected. 

The man in question stopped moving altogether, arm suspended mid-air with the pepper caster still in his hand. Mingi had caught him dumping a ridiculous amount of pepper onto a peculiar mix of mayonnaise and ketchup. 

"What's wrong with what I'm doing?" Hongjoong asked curiously, innocently taking a fork and mixing the ingredients of his self-made sauce carefully.

"Ew, that's about the whitest shit I've ever seen you do," Yunho exclaimed, face pale as if he was going to be sick.

"And what about it?" Hongjoong asked, sass in his voice, provocatively dunking his fries into the mixture before chewing them with relish.

Yunho hid his eyes behind his hands. He resembled a little kid watching a horror movie. "Tell me when he stops," he uttered, sounding a little faint. Nobody could blame him.

Mingi petted his shoulder sympathetically. "I hate to break it to you, but I don't think he'll stop anytime soon."

"Wooyoung, let's swap seats!" Yunho whined helplessly. 

Suddenly, Wooyoung didn't feel the need to run away anymore. Really, watching the boy across from him was not that bad, now that he thought about it. "Sorry, Yunho, but I suddenly like it here. It's actually not so bad."

Across from him, Yeosang raised an eyebrow yet again, judging, and payed even less attention to trying to eat like a civilized person in an attempt to provocate and prove Wooyoung wrong. Wooyoung grimaced, but he wouldn't change his mind. He'd just have to pay attention to his own food and stubbornly ignore everything else. Yes, he could do that.

Dramatically, Yunho sighed, "What a tragedy. Guess I'll just have to concentrate on my normal ketchup."

Hongjoong rolled his eyes. "It's not like I made you eat it. What's going on on my plate is none of your business." He was aware that all of this was just a really elaborate joke and none of them were serious about anything, but he couldn't help but wonder whether the whole weekend would be this challenging. The things he'd do to be at home, in his bed, with his laptop and a container of ice cream. That would be a whole lot more relaxing. God, at this point even going through his chemistry textbooks would be more relaxing.

Next to him, Jongho giggled at the whole scenario. Only now did Hongjoong realize that he hadn't spoken once during their meal. He really hadn't imagined him to be this quiet. Self-confident, knowledgeable and arrogant, frightening... That is how he usually saw him. Maybe there was more to him, facets he wouldn't have thought of associating with him.

However, he suddenly had the memory of him strutting into the diner like he owned the place in his head. Another mental image, Jongho staring him down angrily, surely killing him in his mind after he had ruined his clothes. Gulping, he thought, no, he was probably just quiet because he had to sit next to him and he hated his guts and was just fuming internally instead of ruining everyone's lunch. That must be the reason. There was no way he was introverted.

That made him wonder... If that's how he saw him, even though all of the others liked him... How did the world see him? He knew for a fact that many people thought he was sort of a loner, which wasn't necessarily wrong, but it also wasn't completely right. He had friends, Mingi and Yunho for example, and some people he spoke to on a regular basis between his classes. He did prefer being alone, though, so he understood why people thought of him as an outsider. It's not that he didn't have the ability to speak to people or make friends, it's just that he didn't really want to. He preferred solitude, so why be more outgoing when he thought his life was just fine?

Or did people perhaps perceive him as some sort of conceited twat because he refused to open up more? Maybe they thought his opinion of himself was too high and that's why he didn't demean himself to speaking to a lot of people. No, impossible. He guessed he didn't dress the right way for people to think of him like that. He just wore what he enjoyed. That included a lot of merch from his favourite bands, clothing he had altered himself because, hey, that was fun and everyone needed a hobby. Seriously, if you dealt with science all day you just developed the urge to stick your hands into some paint and go crazy. It was a rather relaxing, grounding activity. 

He began to wonder whether people would think about him differently if he wore different clothes or didn't dye his hair bright colours. Either way, judging someone based on their appearance and clothes didn't give you much insight at all, Hongjoong knew that. It gave you a first impression, a vague idea of what people liked and how they wanted to express themselves, how they wanted to be seen by others, but that was about it. 

You see, there was a fine line between being viewed as an outsider or a stuck-up asshole. Hongjoong sighed and took a bite of his burger which had cooled considerably by during his mental philosophy session. For someone who claimed they didn't care about other people's opinions of him, he sure as hell thought about things like these way too profoundly. 

And for what? Because he thought that maybe Jongho was more like him than he had originally thought? He remembered his deadly glares, the bite in his voice whenever he spoke to him. He couldn't make that shit up. Maybe he was just trying to make himself feel better. He didn't deal well with confrontation so maybe that's why he was trying to project a part of his own personality on to the man sitting next to him. Perhaps this was his brain's way of trying to make him appear less scary and more humane. 

He sighed yet again and sipped his Sprite thoughtfully. "Considering that this is no funeral you're sighing an awful a lot," Jongho criticized suddenly. Hongjoong furrowed his brow as he continued gulping down the offendingly sparkly soft drink, pointedly ignoring the statement and forcing himself to stay quiet. He guessed he had been right about the projection part. 

After they had finished eating they didn't stick around for a long time, they just payed and got into the van to take it to the gas station next to the diner. While Seonghwa was out tanking up the vehicle, Yunho loudly asked, "Alright, guys, who wants to get snacks? I know we have a ton of them in the trunk, but those are for the hut, so who wants snacks right now?"

Honestly, everyone was full to the brim, about to explode thanks to their greasy meals at the diner, which is why most of the others just groaned in rejection - apart from Mingi, who happily stated that he also wanted something to munch on. The two got out of the van and bounced to the gas station, ignoring Seonghwa's incredulous, "Really?"

Once they were inside they started discussing what to buy. They decided on getting chips and beef jerky because according to Mingi that's what a real road trip required. Yunho ignored that they weren't on a real road trip, after all he liked the idea and his friend's suggestion sounded completely reasonable. So while Mingi was looking for the jerky, Yunho was looking at the assortment of chips the rather small gas station offered.

Just as he reached out to grab a pack of onion and cheese flavoured chips, he noticed something weird. The hairs on the back of his neck stood, and he couldn't rid himself of the feeling that he was being watched. Immediately, he turned around. Some middle aged guy was staring at him creepily from the end of the aisle. Okay, weird, but he wasn't one to cower before someone and shit his pants, so he stared back unceremoniously, putting as much fire and hostility as possible into his gaze. The guy didn't back down, either, his stare got even creepier if that was possible. It made something in Yunho's gut twist uneasily.

He almost jumped when someone tapped his shoulder. "What kind of chips did you pick?" Mingi asked curiously. 

"Jeez, you can't just sneak up on me like that!" Yunho exclaimed, turning to face Mingi, heart pounding wildly in his rib cage. Afterwards, he whipped his head around again to see whether the odd guy was still looking at him, but there was nobody. He scanned the shop quickly, but the only other person inside was a bored looking cashier who was busy reading a comic. He couldn't have imagined that, right?

"Sorry," Mingi threw his hands up in defense, beef jerky rattling inside of its plastic packaging. "I just wanted to know which flavour you got because I'm not in the mood for boring shit like salted chips. What happened? You're usually not such a scaredy-cat, but you look like you've seen a ghost."

Clearing his throat to regain his countenance, Yunho explained, "There was some weird dude staring at me like a creep. Didn't you see anyone?"

Mingi furrowed his brow and said, "No, sorry, I wasn't really paying attention." He gave the shop a quick once-over as well to see whether there was anyone else in any of the other aisles. "Whoever it was is gone now. Don't worry too much, alright?" Mingi added and gave Yunho an encouraging fist-bump.

The cashier sighed heavily as he was forced to tear his gaze from his comic book when they wanted to pay for their stuff. It must suck to work here, Yunho thought. The air inside of the little shop was stale and hot - apparently the ceiling fan didn't work, otherwise he was sure it would be on. That's why the door was open, held in place by a sixpack of beer, which in turn allowed all kinds of insects to come inside. Yunho scrunched his nose in disgust as he swatted a mosquito away from his unblemished skin. He could really pass on being bitten by one of those beasts. Did he pack his mosquito repellent spray? As they stepped outside, he sure as hell hoped he did. 

Just as they climbed into the van again, Seonghwa also finished up and went to pay. In the meantime, some of them had fallen asleep, or rather, into a food coma. But who could blame them? Inside of the van it was warm, almost bordering on hot, and heat usually made people sluggish, just like too much food. That was a deadly mix, which is why both Wooyoung and Yeosang were now asleep on San's shoulders, which would be completely fine, really, if Wooyoung hadn't started slobbering onto San's shirt. Sighing, he leaned back as they continued driving. At least Wooyoung was cute and Yeosang wasn't snoring or - God forbid - also drooling. 

Considering that there wasn't really much he could do with two people sleeping on him like babies, he also closed his eyes in an attempt to take a nap.

VI

"How does that saying about rocky paths go?" Mingi asked, feeling a little sick. Why didn't they have any vomit bags in this God damn van? It was worse than being on an airplane, because let's be real, the movements of an airplane were even and could even be calming, you were barely able to feel them. Maybe he should say it was worse than being on a boat. The way ships moved was... definitely nauseating. One curve and you felt like you were about to fall off the fucking thing. If you sat on the deck, that is. Mingi shivered at the memory of several boat trips he had to suffer through with his parents when he was younger.

This, however - this was worse. Mingi's bottom and top teeth clacked together, so he locked his jaw tightly as they were driving on the rocky road that was wrapped around the mountain like a snake. 

Next to him, Hongjoong spoke up, "No clue what you mean, man."

Swallowing and taking a deep breath in order to prevent throwing up, Mingi explained, "Doesn't matter, I just think I'm gonna barf if this goes on much longer." After taking another deep breath he added, "Jongho, when do we arrive?"

"Don't worry, Mingi, we'll get there soon. I'm sorry, I didn't know you feel sick easily."

"It's okay, I can deal with it," Mingi lied. He felt like he had an arm growing out of his stomach and it was pushing its way up his oesophagus until the fist got stuck somewhere around his larynx, making it hard to breathe without feeling the need to retch. That's why he decided to solely focus on his breathing, going as far as to start counting his breaths. Maybe eating those chips and the jerky after having lunch hadn't been the best idea, after all. 

He managed to keep calm until they finally arrived at the infamous cabin. Most of them hadn't been there before and seemed amazed at the sight. The cabin had two floors. The bottom one was made of bare stone and the top floor was covered by wooden panels. There were flower pots in front of the windows, but they were empty - of course, it's not like a lot of people came here regularly and had time to take care of plants. It would look nicer with flowers, though. A small area of grass stretched before the building, wild flowers blooming there.

The air out here was different; much cleaner than in the hustling and bustling city. It's like you didn't know what breathing really was supposed to feel like before you filled your lungs with the fresh air only the countryside could offer. Mingi was relieved to finally get out of the stifling van, so he just stood there for a good amount of time, eyes closed, enjoying the scent of the forest surrounding the place. It was a mossy, heavy scent which he instinctively considered to be grounding. It made him feel comforted, even though he technically found himself in an unknown location, which usually made him feel slightly uneasy and out of place - as it would make anyone feel.

"Okay, guys, I came here last weekend to clean the place, but there's only so much you can do on your own, so don't go complaining to me about finding a spider web or anything like that," Jongho warned them.

Yunho said, "Oh my God, trust me, nobody cares. We're students. Most of us live in shitty dorms, we've literally seen worse than a random dirty corner."

Everybody mumbled words of agreement and Seonghwa added, "Thanks for coming out here to clean by yourself, by the way. You do know that we could have done that together, though, don't you?"

Jongho waved his comment off, explaining, "Don't worry, I didn't mind. It would have been rude to invite you to come here and leave the cabin all dusty and then make all of you clean immediately upon arrival. That would make me such a bad host and you very dissatisfied guests."

Seonghwa continued complaining to him about not letting them (i.e. him because he considered himself some sort of cleanliness expert) help while everyone else started taking their things out of the trunk. Everyone's belongings were in backpacks or small travel bags - there's really not much one needed to survive at a cabin for a few days. 

They had also brought food, obviously. They had brought two huge cooling bags and some other basic foods and snacks that didn't need to be put in the fridge. Being the strongest among them, Jongho grabbed the cooling bags, which honestly were heavier than expected. He ignored the heavy bags weighing his arms down and stomped towards the cabin. 

He proceeded to unlock the door, put the bags down for a moment and waved his arm in a welcoming gesture. "Welcome to my humble abode!"

**Author's Note:**

> pls leave comments and kudos that shit is love and life <3


End file.
